Monaco IN / OUT

I have lived in the Principality for ten years, work there, and know every elevator, every secret passage. From the Larvotto beach, where all the languages of the world are spoken while sipping Espresso Martini, to the lost cove with azure complexions, where a few well-spoken people mingle among the fish. From the restaurant on the terrace where international athletes chat while eating taggiasche olives, to the bowling club known to regulars. Discover Monaco from the inside, its banter, its facets. As a private chef myself, I had the chance to work for the country's institutions: president, ministers and businessmen. My job also brings me to meet artisans, and all the layers that make Monaco an endearing and contrasting country-village... under the sun.

Formerly Roquebrune and Menton were part of the Principality. The splendid Roquebrune castle governs the troglodyte village, marked with the seal of the Grimaldi family. This stop will also allow you to admire Monaco from the heights, and to imagine the sea, and the dangers it represented for the villages of the Côte d'Azur, reflecting in their wake possible attacks from the horizon. We will also raise our glasses in a cave, and greet an olive tree almost 2000 years old.

with a luminous marine cemetery, Menton looks like a “real” postcard. With a micro climate that makes the reputation of its lemons, Menton also has a street enjoying a unique climate in this specific climate: pecan nuts grow on the sidewalk, passion fruit and bananas. Further down, olive trees and orange trees bathe in the sea air. A few steps away, Italy is approaching on foot. We will wander among its secrets, stopping at the covered market, a veritable gastronomic den of the Riviera.

Sometimes a rival of Monaco, sometimes an ally – Luc Doria married Françoise Grimaldi in 1491, DolceAcqua recounts the medieval centuries up to the Renaissance with dizzying richness... which also makes us think about Monaco, and better understand its history, its influences. Beyond these catwalks, DolceAcqua was able to seduce Claude Monet with its beauty, who produced a series of paintings from it. Its maze of climbing, falling and twisting streets will revive your child's soul... and its Ligurian cuisine, washed down with its Rossese – an endemic grape variety, will complete an enchanting Italian detour. Perhaps, if the weather permits, we will go diving in the cobalt waters of natural swimming pools...

according to your wishes: from the Ligurian village exulting in its medieval magnificence to the stunning lights projecting us towards the future, the gap will allow you to see the paths taken, since the 15th century, by the Dorias and the Grimaldis.